


Seasonal

by LadyIDK



Series: Inktober 2019 [2]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Dragons, Established Relationship, Inktober 2019, M/M, Patterns, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-20 22:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21063986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIDK/pseuds/LadyIDK
Summary: Season's change but Xanxus moping on an ice thrown never does. What has him upset now? The summer dragon spirit, Tsuna, is late returning home and keeping his lover waiting.





	Seasonal

**Author's Note:**

> The second installment of my Inktober 2019 fics! I'm a huuuuge KHR fan and I've always wanted to write something for X27 cause the pair just needs some more love in my opinion! Possible prompt for this week's Inktober were Frail, Swing, Pattern, Snow, Dragon, Ash, and Overgrown. I feel like I tried to incorporate all of them but I think only the prompts of Pattern, Snow, and Dragon really shone through so I'll only tag them. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy!

Servants in plain robes rushed back and forth through the shrine. In a room near all the chaos with the curtains drawn, Xanxus sat sipping wine as he glared into a weak fire doing little to warm the room. Lanterns cast long shadows over him and the room.

Summer was returning to the shrine, and servants decorated every hall and room with floral arrangements, ceremonial tapestries, and banners, while also scrambling to restock the kitchen as they prepared for the evening welcome feast. They also scrambled to restock the kitchen as they prepared for the evening welcome feast.

Every homecoming was the same--the same steps, same restocking of supplies, same decorations being brought out or put away. So why couldn't the scum do it quietly?

Xanxus shifted in his chair. He angled his head to catch the servants’ silhouettes rushing past the doorway that slowly began to frost despite the warmth of the fire that burned in the hearth. 

One fool was daring enough to peek in as he passed. A cruel smirk crossed Xanxus’s face when the servant paled and sprinted away. Xanxus moved to get up from his chair until a hand pushed him back down. “You’ll cause yourself more of a headache if Tsuna returns to another one of his households turned to ice and shattered on the shrine steps,” Squalo warned.

“Then he should teach them how to be _ silent, lest I need to _,” Xanxus rebutted, voice booming on the last word so that it echoed and carried through all the walls and rooms. For a few moments, it was finally quiet.

It didn’t hold long however, there were still many things to do. Things to be prepared. A welcome to be given once the second spirit of the shrine returned from his journey. Returned to them and their land with his warmth and life, and Xanxus’s cold deadened grasp.

For a short time at least. 

The servants' shuffling picked up again, but with significantly less noise. Their steps were only faint taps now on the stone floor. Xanxus was appeased for now but he'd demand that Tsuna re-train them, and if any fell short, he’d freeze them still. 

And then he'd cave to Tsuna's fluttering doe eyes and sweet smile. 

Squalo scoffed. “You’re such a nightmare to deal with. Every time, pouting like an abandoned child. How shocked the mortals would be to know their great winter dragon pitched fits like an unruly toddler.” 

Xanxus’s eyes cut to his right, lips upturned in a sneer. Squalo, to his credit, took the glare and subsequent freezing of his hand on Xanxus’s shoulder without so much as a flinch. He simply pried it off and admired it like a new accessory.

"We don't even need half the shit they drag out. There's only one room we sleep in and two or three that we even use, so why does every damn room need to be prepared?" Xanxus griped.

“It’s just how things are done,” Squalo snapped, glaring at the scarred man as he leaned against the fireplace. His arm dangled above the flame; the ice dripped slow but steady as it thawed. “Honestly,” he grumbled. “Bitching about the same shit every other season seems more annoying than the preparations.”

A cold gust swept through the room. The arms of Xanxus’s chair began to frost and turn as white as his knuckles gripped them. Ice crawled and cooled across the surface of the room. Squalo rolled his eyes at the beginning tantrum, mouth open and ready for another lecture.

After all, Squalo wasn’t moping about the chaos and reorganization of his own home right now, just because Tsuna was bringing his rain spirit with him. No, he wasn’t moping at all or hiding from the mess of his household preparing his riverbeds and lakes to be shared with the annoying spirit. They all had roles to play and rituals to do for the natural order and changes of the season, especially with them being so behind now.

But before he could speak, the fireplace erupted, with the flames growing higher and wilder. The cold air that settled and chilled the room evaporated along with the ice on the floor. The cracked door that led to the foyer flew open as Tsuna strolled in, eyes landing immediately on Xanxus pouting in his icy throne. 

Tsuna’s smile was radiant but his amber eyes were mischievous. They remained on Xanxus but he addressed Squalo first. “Squalo! It’s so good to see you! The servants said you were here trying to keep Xanxus from freezing the whole forest, so I thought you might need some backup.” Tsuna greeted Squalo and took Squalo’s frozen hand. The ice on it cracked, melting and bubbling back into the shape of his arm.

“Someone had to make sure you had attendants rather than ice sculptures,” Squalo chuckled, quickly drawing his hand away from Tsuna’s now that it was healed.

And in an instant once again, a deathly chill cut through the room. 

“Since you’re here, that means the rain idiot is here,” Squalo spoke as he stepped away from Tsuna and took long strides to the door. “I should go and make sure he’s not messing anything up without me supervising. I’ll see you at the welcome feast tonight.” With that he was out the door, shutting it firmly behind him before either dragon spirit could say another word.

“You’re late.”

Tsuna hummed as he stopped by the fire, his back towards Xanxus now. “Ah, I thought the messenger mentioned that I’d be here this evening. I made good time by getting here before sund-”

“You were supposed to be here last month.” The small flames in the lanterns snuffed out. The embers from the hearth that Tsuna nurtured though didn’t waver. It cast even larger and darker shadows in the room. 

Tsuna squirmed. He refused to turn and meet Xanxus’s eyes as he spoke. “There were...unforeseen circumstances.”

It was embarrassing, Xanxus thought, that Tsuna still couldn’t tell a lie without sounding unsure of it. 

“Unforeseen circumstances.” Xanxus rolled the phrase over his tongue. “Hm, did your carriages and wagons break? I was positive I put high-level charms on them, to keep their joints and durability solid for you.”

“N-no, it wasn't the wagons.”

“Was it the guides? Did your party get lost because they led you astray? I’ll be sure to take a pound of their flesh for every minute they stalled your journey.”

Tsuna turned to reassure Xanxus.“No! They did their job well! I’d say the routes of this year’s voyage were smoother than any in many, many years.” 

Xanxus was no longer slouching in his chair, he sat upright with both hands gripping the arms of it tightly as he gave Tsuna a heavy look. “A demon then,” Xanxus asked softly. “Were you attacked, harmed?” He let his red eyes roam Tsuna’s shadowed figure, only seeing an outline of him from being backlit by the fire, and his amber eyes which were growing guiltier with each question.

“N-no.”

“You were spoiling the mortals.” It wasn’t a question this time. Just an undeniable fact. Tsuna got attached quickly to the mortals; to their antics as he warmed their lands and bloomed their flowers and crops and to their praises said to the air and sent straight to Tsuna’s heart. Tsuna loved making people happy, knowing he did something good. 

Xanxus loved that part of Tsuna-when it was directed at him. He loathed it when it turned Tsuna’s attention to anyone else. Tsuna would shirk his responsibilities just to keep the people's smiles a little longer. That Tsuna would be willing to take that risk for anyone other than him boiled Xanxus’s icy blood enough that it nearly thawed. Especially for ungrateful mortals who cursed Tsuna once he left.

Xanxus, who brought them cold and shriveled life. Hunger and sickness to those not smart enough to plan, or too weak to withstand his presence in their lands. He understood their ire towards him to a degree but did not understand nor appreciate that ire directed at Tsuna. 

They whine about Tsuna leaving and letting Xanxus take his turn to spread his chill. They complain of his heat and sunshine drying their rivers up so they didn’t flood ‘too much’ and they couldn’t stock their water. They thanklessly cry that it was never enough despite Tsuna always tiring himself until his fire dimmed from an unbridled to inferno to smoldering embers. 

Mortals became spoiled, content, privileged when Tsuna visited. 

The summer dragon never saw his precious mortals turn against him like this. Never had to hear their ungrateful voices. Xanxus took pleasure sometimes in the worst offenders, who damned Tsuna instead of realizing their laziness was at fault, shivering into stillness under his watch. So when Tsuna returned late, cutting their already short time together before Xanxus had to leave for his solo journey, because he wished to give more of himself to ungrateful mortals. 

It put Xanxus in a terrible mood. 

The lanterns wicks re-sparked and the shadows of the room dispersed to reveal Tsuna’s face. The summer dragon’s guilt was damning but, Xanxus begrudged, endearing. The brunet bit his lip and his eyes danced around the room, still not daring to meet Xanxus’s. 

“The last village I visited needed more time to prepare. If you come to them this year and they didn’t have enough, the lot of them will be wiped out,” Tsuna explained. His voice was soft and gentle, caressing Xanxus’s ears like a warm breeze.

“If they were to perish then let them perish. If their state was so dire and did not plan properly that is the price they pay. When a village falls, it teaches the others to be more diligent so they are not lax and can make the most of your next visit so the same fate does not befall them,” Xanxus lectured dully. 

“But-”

“Do you forget it’s not merely mortals that rely on us? It's the plants. The animals. The other elemental spirits. When you return late or lag in your journey, they are the ones who suffer. You linger and harvest spirits must stay as well, rather than getting their much-needed rest. Lake and river spirits dry up more, and the rains and storms must wait longer before they can go to refill them.

The summer showers you bring aren’t enough to sustain them, and your storms too fierce to linger longer than they are supposed to. Squalo preaches to me about the ‘balance’ constantly when you’re the one who seems to need the lecture.”

The more he spoke the higher shards of ice grew from his chair. White spikes glistened and sharpened from behind and all around him. Xanxus’s breath fogged as he sighed and slumped in his chair. His blood was hardening his body as the cold within him grew; he felt too stiff.

Then like a dam breaking, it thawed. The ice spikes grown from Xanxus’s anger melted and the puddles began to evaporate when Tsuna wrapped his arms around Xanxus’s neck. He tucked his head under Xanxus’s chin and crawled into his lap.

“I’m sorry,” Tsuna whispered, genuine. Xanxus knew he was, knew he always was, but still, like clockwork, Tsuna would falter again. The pattern was tiring and infuriating and Tsuna never explained himself. He’d simply flutter doe eyes at him and sweeten them with a dazzling smile. And Xanxus would cave again. 

Xanxus waited. He waited for Tsuna’s act, his promises riddled with cracks for when he broke them. They never came, though. They sat in silence, the servants’ steps even lighter now than they were before. Xanxus internally mused that they must have gotten smart and moved far from the dragons or risk getting caught up in the hazardous flow of their reunion.

Xanxus appreciated the silence at first, but soon it dragged on his nerves. Worry and doubt began to broil in his gut. The differences in Tsuna’s behavior after hundreds of loops of the same pattern was disconcerting. His hands left the arms of his chair and wrapped tight around Tsuna’s waist.

“Don’t tell me,” Xanxus murmured. “Have my words finally pierced that thick skull of yours? Or is there something worse you're apologizing for?”

“They’ve always pierced,” Tsuna sighed, cuddling closer, searching for the most comfortable spot before kicking his legs up and over the armrest.

Xanxus snorted. “Really? I feel as if I’ve been nagging at a brick wall for a few centuries.”

“Well, don’t you find it refreshing to have something to nag me about after all the stuff I nag you about?”

“No. Not at all. Is this mad logic the root cause of your behavior?” A hand swatted Xanxus’s shoulder. Tsuna’s hold vanished but he still lounged across Xanxus’s lap. He seemed intent on staying there for a while.

“Like many things I do, even when I don’t want to, I do it for you,” Tsuna admitted, a cherry red blush on his cheeks.

“That,” Xanxus started. “Makes no sense in all, maybe mad was the wrong word…”

“I’m only being honest.” Tsuna pouted. He cut his eyes to Xanxus giving him a look he’d seen countless times. He sighed. “You’ll never understand: 

“Says the brat who doesn’t tell me anything,” Xanxus sneered. His hands that gripped Tsuna’s waist tightened and shifted Tsuna’s body until it wasn’t lounging over him like a cat over a rug. Xanxus made Tsuna face him so he could glare into those large amber eyes.“You’re quitting before you even try to explain.”

“I swear-I’m only a few hundred years younger than you! I wish you’d stop calling me-”

“Then stop acting like one.” He wasn’t in the mood to tease Tsuna about their, in relative terms, slight age difference.

Tsuna frowned and squirmed under Xanxus’s gaze. The winter dragon didn’t relent. He was tired of never getting answers. Tsuna didn’t know the frustration and anxiety built in Xanxus’s chest when he thought that Tsuna would fail to return one day. Or weaken himself too far for mere rest and rejuvenation springs to heal. Xanxus would be hard-pressed to pick which of those outcomes as the worst. 

Tsuna remained silent, brows pinched together as the brunette chewed on his lip more. Working out how to explain or craft another pretty lie or distraction again Xanxus didn’t know. Tsuna was taking his time and Xanxus had never been a patient man. His hand loosened from Tsuna’s waist and slipped under the other’s shirt at the small of his back where Xanxus delivered a harsh spike of chill.

Tsuna yelped, curling further into Xanxus’s chest with a glare. “You’re taking too long.”

Tsuna once again flushed a sweet red. “It’s-I just don’t think you could understand how irritating it is to hear them bad mouth your hard work.”

Xanxus blinked, then cocked his head. “What?”

Tsuna’s blush was down to his neck now. He squirmed but met Xanxus’s gaze with a protective inferno blazing behind his. “Well, you already aren’t the biggest fan of mortals. They can be hard to care for even for me, you know. I still love them quite a bit, especially the innocent ones, the children and the like who greet us with joy. However, the older humans are just nonstop with complaint after complaint. They curse the very idea of you! I-I hate to say I have made their skin burn a bit easier in the sun when they talk like that.

Then I thought, perhaps if they were better prepared for your journey then they would appreciate the beauty you bring them, they always focus on the sick and dead but half the time you aren’t even responsible for that, but they blame you anyway! If it makes even one less mortal to quit from cursing you and appreciate what you bring I don’t mind lingering. Though I wish the lazy ones would just take better advantage of the sacr-”

“You are the biggest fool I’ve ever met,” Xanxus breathed. In the next second his lips had crashed into Tsuna’s. The smaller man squeaked, surprised, before going complete lax in Xanxus’s hold. His slender arms returned to Xanxus’s broad shoulders and gripped the thick wool fabric of his shirt. Xanxus’s hands became greedier, stealing the heat Tsuna radiate warm his usually forever cold skin.

The hand that had been at the small of Tsuna’s back traveled up, tracing the notches of the other’s spine and eliciting sweet shivers. Xanxus’s other hand buried itself behind Tsuna’s had in the thick nest of his hair. Tsuna groaned when Xanxus tugged at it, to try and part their lips but Tsuna fought it. He licked and nipped at Xanxus’s lips, trying to encourage the other to deepen it.

Xanxus tugged Tsuna’s hair again and this time was successful in pulling the touch starved brunet away. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t telling you enough about how much of an idiot you are.”

“Excuse me?” Tsuna gasped trying to catch his breath. “How am I being an idiot? How dare-”

“I’ll go into more detail, great detail, about it after your welcome banquet. For now, I think we’re late.” 

With that said, Xanxus kept a firm hold on Tsuna and stood. Tsuna whined about being carried but Xanxus ignored his summer’s complaints while he sauntered out of their room and into the rest of their shrine.

Xanxus mused that it was a good start to fall.

**Author's Note:**

> Next week (or this current week honestly since im posting late again) prompts are Legend, Wild, Ornament, Misfit, Sling, Tread, and Treasure. But there's not gonna be fic for these ones until later~ I have special plans for them~ 
> 
> So instead the next Inktober installment will be a fic for the prompts of the week after. Ghost, Ancient, Dizzy, Tasty, Dark, Coat, and Ride. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Special thanks to Little Miss Bunny and Wreni for Betaing for me! If you want some good ol' Inktober art Wreni has been doing solid at posting every day, check out his stuff [ here!](https://https://www.instagram.com/wr3ni/)  
Also, if you feel like seeing me spam anime retweets of stuff follow me on [ Twitter!](https://twitter.com/Lady_IDK)  



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